Mind Walking Through a Ch’an Landscape Painting
(Taoist Thought and Ch’an painting)
Standing in front of a Chinese Ch’an landscape painting, I take a deep breath and mentally walk into it. Dark clouds, thunderous moments ago, show glimpses of bright sky. Pouring rain changes to a drizzle. The moistened air smells of pine. I cross a bridge [...]
Continue reading »Seventy-Fourth Chapter
Tao Te-Ching
The people are not afraid of death
Why then threaten them with death?
Suppose the people are always afraid of death and we can seize those who are vicious and kill them,
Who would dare to do so?
There is always master executioner who kills.
To take executions for the master executioner is like hewing wood for the [...]
Seventy-Third Chapter
Tao Te-Ching
Bold action against others results in death.
Bold action in harmony with the Tao leads to life.
Both of these things sometimes benefit and sometimes harm.
Nature’s way is to conquer without striving.
It does not speak, yet it is answered.
It does not ask, yet it is supplied with all that it needs.
It does not hurry, yet [...]